In most kitchens, the slow cooker used to get dragged out of a cabinet once or twice a year. Now, with all of us running short on time and in need of the convenience of one-pot cooking, it’s an essential appliance. That fact of life hasn’t gone unnoticed on the editors of “Southern Living” who recently released a 290-page book devoted to slow cooker recipes.

Publilshed by Oxmoor House, the “Southern Living big book of slow cooking” comes filled with page after page of easy-to-follow recipes as well as stunning photos of each dish.

The book starts off with a basic tutorial on how to use your Slow Cooker and take care of it. The chapter, titled “Slow Cooker School,” offers the best tricks from the Southern Living test kitchens and even shows you ways to make cleanup easier.

The recipes are divided among six chapters, and each recipe has a recommendation for what size slow cooker works best, from 3 to 7 quarts. Sometimes even the shape of the cooker matters. At the top of each recipe, you’ll also find three helpful things: the hands-on time it takes to assemble the recipe; the total time; and the yield. Chapters include:

Yes, You Can Make That In Your Slow Cooker – OK, the jury may still be out on this chapter, but here you’ll find recipes for everything from a Low Country Shrimp Boil to Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheese Cake to Fruited Carrot Cake. Georgia-styled boiled peanuts? Who knew!?! And for pasta lovers, there’s both Three Penne Cheese Bake and Lasagna

Classic Convenience – Your favorite dishes made in one pot will seem appealing, especially if it’s ready when you get home from work. Offerings include some Southern favorites like Collard Greens, Barbecued Baked Beans and Brunswick Stew. New twists on some Southern classics include Hoppin’ John Chowder, Orange Molasses Barbecue Ribs, and Piemento Cheese Grits with Ham.

Company’s Coming – You’ll find classic appetizers like Spinach-Artichoke Casserole and Caso Blanco. Or you can shake things up with offerings like the Reuben Spread, based on the classic deli sandwich, or Buffalo Chicken Cheese Dip. And this chapter helps with main dishes and sides like Cornbread Stuffing, Green Bean Casserole and Pot Roast. In addition to soup recipes – Steak Soup, Corn and Potato Chowder – you’ll find some new menu ideas like Onion Encrusted London Broil and Barbecued Shrimp.

Party in a Pot – The title of this chapter isn’t really what it suggests. Instead you’ll find classics like Sloppy Joes and Tacos and Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes with Ham along with new ideas like Mu Shu Chicken Wraps to Rosemary Chicken Lasagna to Sausage Tomato Cassoulet with Crumb Topping. This chapter also devotes space to soups, from Loaded Potato Soup to French Onion to Beer and Sharp Cheddar Soup.

Make It Meatless – This section showcases recipes that won’t have anyone at the table asking “Where’s the beef.” Check out Savory Italian Vegetable Bread Pudding, Vegetable Moussaka, and Wild Mushroom Pasta Alredo with Walnuts.

One word of caution. Be sure to read the recipe ahead of time. Some dishes involved getting things started in a sauce pan or even the broiler. This could catch you flat-footed if you are hurrying to get the recipe started before heading out to work.

But by the end of the book, with its 200 recipes, you’ll realize how far we’ve come from your Mom’s crockpot creations.

MU SHU CHICKEN WRAPS

1 medium onion, diced

2 pounds skinned and boned chicken thighs

¼ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. pepper

1 Tbs. sesame or vegetable oil

¾ cup hoisin sauce

1 Tbs. soy sauce

1 Tbs. honey

2 tsp rice wine vinegar

¼ tsp. ground ginger

8 (6-inch) flour tortillas

3 cups shredded Napa cabbage

½ cup thinly sliced green onions.

Place onion in a 3- or 4- quart slow cooker

Sprinkle chicken evenly with salt and pepper.

Brown chicken 2 to 3 minutes on each side in hot oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Remove skillet from heat, and place chicken on top of onion in slow cooker.

Whisk together hoisin sauce and next four ingredients; pour over chicken. Cover and cook on high for 1 hour. Reduce to low and cook for 5 hours. Shred chicken with fork.

Combine first 9 ingredients in 1 cup of water in a 6-quart slow cooker

Cover and cook on low for six hours. Cut top off boil-in-bag rice; our into slow cooker and discard bag. Stir.

Cover and cook on high for 20 minutes or until rice is tender.

Makes: 18 servings

Hands-on time: 14 minutes

Total time: 6 hours, 34 minutes

ONION-ENCRUSTED LONDON BROIL

1 cup soft, fresh bread crumbs

1 Tbs. dried parsley flakes

1 tsp. ground pepper

1 (1-ounce) envelope dry onion soup mix

2½ pound London broil (at least 2 inches thick)

Combine first four ingredients in a small bowl. Press crumb mixture onto steak, coating completely. Place steak in 4-quart slow cooker. Cover and cook on High for one hour. Reduce heat to Low and cook 8 hours. Slice steak across the grain to serve.

NOTE: Although many butchers label this particular cut of meat “London broil,” thick top round steak is also a common term.

Makes: 5 servings

Hands-on time: 4 minutes

Total time: 9 hours, 4 minutes

WANT A COPY?

“Southern Living big book of slow cooking” is available at bookstores.

It is also available online at oxmoorhouse.com and other online book publishers, including amazon.com